[SML] Splicing a Flemish Eye into wire rope

[Steven Santos]

You can drive up to Boston and I can show you how this is done, both by
hand and I can take you to the local wire rope dealer and have them press
an eye in the machines.

---
Steven Santos
Director
Simply Circus, Inc.
86 Los Angeles Street
Newton, MA 02458

P: 617-527-0667
F: 617-934-1870
E: Steven at SimplyCircus.com

On Tue, Sep 22, 2015 at 2:51 PM, Gregory Maine via Stagecraft <
stagecraft at theatrical.net> wrote:

> Dear friends of the stagecraft mailing list,
> It has been a long time since I have posted to, or kept up with the
> mailing list, however some independent exploration into splicing wire rope
> has brought me back:
>
> I will start my inquisition by stating that I am doing this for my own
> exploration, as well as my educational growth, and currently have no plans
> to put any splice I create into practical use until I, or those above me
> feel confident in my understanding of the procedures involved.
>
> That said here is how this all started: I am currently working on my MFA
> in technical direction at the University of Connecticut, and one the
> classes that I am taking this fall is in advanced rigging techniques. In
> class recently, we discussed some of the different techniques for
> terminating wire rope, i.e. Nicopress, wire rope clips, fist grips, eye
> splices, etc., along with the each method's strengths and weaknesses, and
> the de-rating of safety factors for each. The Flemish eye interested me,
> mostly due to my lack of familiarity with it, and in addition, it is my
> understanding that this style of eye splice is commonly used to terminate
> the ends of commercially made wire rope slings used in entertainment
> rigging, something that also added to my interest.
>
> In discussion with my professor about the process of creating such a
> splice, his feeling is that one cannot create a functional Flemish eye
> without the requisite hydraulic press and sleeves, which I agree with. I
> did however find descriptions of hand-spliced eyes of a similar design in
> the *Handbook of Rigging* by MacDonald, Rossnagel, and Higgins.
>
> Despite not having the requisite tools for finishing the splice I decided
> to give it a go as an attempt to learn and understand the wrapping process
> that creates the eye itself. I used a guide created by the Crosby Group
> distributed online that outlined the wrapping procedure, as well as
> consulted Youtube for any helpful videos. In all cases, the wire rope used
> in demonstration was of 1/2" diameter or larger. For my first attempts, I
> used 1/8" 7x19 IWRC aircraft cable, something that we have copious amounts
> of. I followed the directions given by the Crosby guide which involved
> calculating and marking the amount of pull and the distance to the throat.
> Using their calculations left me with what I felt was too short of a length
> for the pull amount. My understanding of the process, and on this I may be
> incorrect, was that the pull was supposed to wrap the outside of the cable
> below the throat, thereby strengthening the throat, that otherwise in my
> experimentation seemed a bit weak. I tried varying the pull length to see
> if I could get it to wrap back around itself successfully, but to no avail.
> I just cannot get the ends to wrap around the cable. An attempt to splice
> 1/4" 7x19 aircraft cable was met with similar challenges.
>
> My conclusion has been thus far that I am using type of wire rope. I did
> consult Harry Donovan's book *Entertainment Rigging* on the types of wire
> rope used in wire rope slings, which is listed as 7x19 or 6x19 IWRC cable
> of 1/4" diameter and larger.
>
> My questions are as follows:
> - Is the wire rope at my disposal for experimentation inappropriate for
> this type of termination?
> - Is my understanding correct in that the pull has to wrap the outside of
> the cable once the wrapping passes the throat?
> -Am I completely insane?
>
> Any advice, or insight would be appreciated, as well as suggestions of
> other techniques for eye splicing wire rope that you feel would be fun or
> beneficial to learn.
> Thanks,
> Gregory W. Maine
>
>
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